Advances in the pectin production process using novel extraction techniques: A review

The heteropolysaccharide known as pectin has found a myriad of functional and nutritive uses within the food and, increasingly, in other related industries. Extraction is a critical unit operation in recovering this compound from its in situ state in the cell walls of various plant-based food processing side streams. Although well established, growing demand has exposed certain inadequacies of the mainstream pectin extraction technique—notably efficiency and product consistency, thus prompting research interest towards ameliorating the process by an adoption of a number of novel technologies. Microwave and ultrasound energy appear to be the more likely candidates, but so are enzymatic-augmentation of the extraction process and the use of subcritical water to replace acidified water as solvent, among others. Yet this paper takes an objective approach in evaluating these new methods; for all their advantages, high cost, amidst other drawbacks, still prohibits their use in industry. Furthermore, optimization of process parameters are crucial to better understanding the chances of process scale-up, and this has been the current stage of efforts in the area. The present review discusses the nuances involved in using these non-conventional technologies for its extraction, including advantages and drawbacks. Prospects of their industrial integration are also conjectured.